The Hunter
by lalalerah
Summary: Set before Twilight. James goes on a hunt alone in the slums of Seattle when things become interesting. "Well, Maria," Her name rolled off my tongue with ease. "I think I have other plans now."
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own any of the Twilight books, that's why they're the way they are and not the way I want some of them to be. And I forgot a disclaimer on my other fanfic so just pretend there's one there.**

I was stuck at camp. **Me**! Stuck at camp! Who did Victoria and Laurent think they were? They were off hunting while I was stuck at camp! I agreed to the stay behind rule only because I never thought I'd be the one having to stay behind! I can still hear Victoria's voice, _"James, your remember the rule. One person has to stay behind and watch the camp and, quite frankly, you never have. So Laurent's coming with me this time." _The nerve of that woman! I raised this coven up! I started it! I changed Victoria and I recruited Laurent! This was just wrong!

The fire flickered and rose up, lashing out at the air. I felt my anger doing the same thing. _That's it_, I decided, _I'm going hunting for myself_. I stood up, took a deep breath, and began to run. I felt the adrenaline pump through my veins and I whipped past trees. That is if I even **have** adrenaline in my veins. Either way I feel the rush. I am unstoppable, I am invincible, I am James the vampire and I'm ready to kill some humans.

Something hit me, so strong I stopped in my tracks. It was a scent. A scent of a human. A mouth-watering scent that drove me wild. _I have to have that_, my mind kept repeating while I felt the venom pool in my mouth. I stalked toward the scent, it was close by. I was in the slums of Seattle, up north. **North**! I hated the North. But Victoria wanted a change of pace. Man that girl was a pain in my ass. I sniffed the air, getting some strange looks from the homeless. I flashed them a dazzling smile before continuing my hunt.

The slums were disgusting. The smell was so potent that it must stink, even to a dull human nose. The only good thing was that my prey was in the slums too. Gangsters and the homeless are always the easiest to get. No one cares about them, except family. This was perfect. I got closer and closer to the scent, and found myself in the Hood. I was about to close in on the building which housed my prey before a shadow engulfed me.

"Watcha doin here, white boy?" I turned to see a tall black man with a couple of buddies behind him. A gang. I held back a smirk.

"Hunting." I replied truthfully. My answer seemed to stump them for a moment. Then the leader nodded to the rest of them and they circled around me.

"That wasn't the right answer." The leader smirked and I returned it.

"I doubt there is one." The circle began getting smaller and smaller. _I'm going to throw the first punch_, I decided. My fist flew out and hit the nearest guy in the face. There was a sickening crunch as his nose and jaw broke from the force of my hit. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain. The circle had taken a step back, each one of them surprised. I smirked and it became a full out fight.

I had three out of the seven down when there was a loud noise. I felt something ricochet off the side of my head. Someone had shot me! Not like it had done me any harm. I turned to smile at the shooter. It was a Mexican girl, around 18. She was leaning out the 5th story window, holding the gun in shaking hands. Then her smell hit me. She was my prey. I quickly took out the rest of the guys before busting down the front door and taking to the stairs. I hit the 5th floor and stopped. Time to make this interesting. All of the doors were shut and locked. No problem.

"Oh, little girl." I called out. I heard a little gasp and started moving towards the sound. "I know you shot me." There was a rustling, someone crawling away. I stalked down the hallway, knowing it looked like something out of a horror movie. The lighting was dim and the floor was covered with trash. I stopped outside the second to last door and inhaled. She was in there. I knocked on the door. The girl was muttering something in Spanish. _Note to self, learn Spanish. _I grabbed the handle and opened the door, the lock popping off as if it were a rubber band instead of steel. Her scent hit me like a tidal wave, everything about it wonderful. She smelled like hot tamales and coco powder. She had eyeliner streaks from crying.

"Hi." I said casually. Her brown eyes fluttered closed as she heaved a sob. She knew she was going to die. Her black hair was in a high ponytail, showing off her multiple pierced ears.

"Ssshhhhh, don't cry." I murmured in a soft voice. One she found irresistible. She heaved a sigh and looked me in the eye.

"I know you're going to kill me so just get it over with." She turned her head, exposing her luscious neck. A low growl escaped me. She cringed.

"Ok, I will, but first your, name." I squatted down next to her and put the back of my hand on her cheek.

"Maria." She shuddered. She was beautiful, and feisty. I couldn't let her go.

"Well, Maria," Her name rolled off my tongue with ease. "I think I have other plans now. With that I scooped her up and took off. _Let's see how this goes._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Maria's POV:

I woke up to the smell of smoke and panicked. "Obtener Abuela de aquí!*" I yelled, not thinking. Then I noticed my surroundings. I was in the woods. There was a shabby tent near by and a fire next to me. That's where the smoke had come from. I sat up and looked around. _Where am I? _My brain kept repeating. "If I knew where I was do you think I'd be asking that question?" I muttered to myself. There was a chuckle from behind me.

" Que pasa allí*? " I called out, jumping up.

"That's not fair." The guy from yester day dropped down from one of the trees and landed in front of me. "I don't speak Spanish." My heart thudded. He was just as beautiful as I remembered him. His long, blonde hair was in a low pony tail; his smooth, pale skin was flawless; and his piercing red eyes gave my a thrill just to look at.

"I think I'm at a disadvantage." I managed to stutter out. If there is one thing I have learned from the streets, it's always talk things out.

"And, what is that?" The man purred as he began advancing on me. It reminded me of like a hunter stalking his prey. I had to back up.

"Um, you know my name but I don't know yours." My back hit a tree and I gasped. The man kept advancing.

"It's James." He purred. _James James James James James James James! _My head chanted.

"Oh, uh, hi James." His name felt heavy on my tongue, like it had some unknown meaning to me. James grinned largely when I said his name which made my heart speed up.

"Are you afraid of me, Maria?" I shivered.

"No." My self-preservation kicked in. **Never** show fear. "Why should I be?" James chuckled again, only this time it was dark and sinister.

"No reason. It just seems that since you shot me in the head yester day but I'm still alive that you would have reasons to doubt." He started circling me.

"I must have missed." Was all I could say. Even though I know I didn't, I never do. James did scare me, but what scared me the most was thinking about not being near him.

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"No." I whispered out. "Nunca ECHO.*"

"I wish you wouldn't talk in Spanish so much, it greatly frustrates me." James stopped and stared me down. "Why do you do it so much."

"Because it's my security blanket. I know you don't know Spanish so I can say what ever I like. That's why I used at home, that's why I'm going to use it here." I felt myself blurt out like an idiot. Damn him and his control over me!

"Interesting." He muttered. "I need to go hunt. Do. Not. Leave. This. Camp." With that James was gone. My knees gave out as I sunk to the forest floor. This was so surreal. I had been kidnapped, taken to the woods, and now left alone.

"Should I run?" I asked quietly._ NO! _Yelled back reason, and I agreed. Besides, who knew what he was hunting. I felt myself shiver. What was I going to do?

James POV:

I ran off to find food. The girl, Maria, drove me crazy. I just couldn't last around her. Every second with that smell invading my thoughts made it harder and harder to keep her alive. Why was I even trying? This was stupid! Yet I couldn't bring myself to kill her. Why was that? The only thing she was good for was spitting out Spanish, which I clearly didn't understand. I thought back to her earlier revelation. She spoke it as like a secret language.

Pretty soon I came across a hobo camp. Just what I needed. There were about 15 hobos there. Enough to keep me strong around Maria for a little longer than before. With that in mind to blood bath began.

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I emerged sometime later stuffed. I don't think I had ever had so many humans at one time. As for clean up, I just decided to set the place ablaze. I hurried back to camp, wondering if Maria was still there.

When I got there I paused and listened. Maria was still here, and she was singing in Spanish. She had a beautiful voice. I squatted down to listen some more. Eventually I would make myself known, but for now I just wanted to listen.

Obtener Abuela de aquí! – Get Grandma out of here!

Que pasa allí- Who's there

Nunca ECHO.- I never miss.

**A/N If there's anything misspelled of said wrong in Spanish, blame my computers translator. It's not the best. Thanks and Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

James POV

Maria had been with me for three days now. She had finally calmed down enough to talk to me. The first thing she said once she had the nerve to was "What are you?". It was a simple question, but I didn't want to answer it. I didn't want to make her afraid of me anymore than she already was. And feeling that way greatly confused me. Why should I care about how much she feared me? She was going to die by my hand anyways. So instead of telling her the truth I just shrugged and went back to stroking the fire. That was day one.

"Hey James." Maria said simply as I walked into camp. I had just gotten back from hunting. Again. The crime rate in Seattle had rose drastically since I had arrived. Maria's smile faded when I didn't reply. I was lost in thought. What was I going to do with her? I had just gotten word from Victoria saying that they we were on their way back. I shook my head, they sure had gone farther than expected.

"Hello." I finally answered, not wanting to make her worry. Why, I didn't know. This whole thing confused me. Really! I was James! The tracker! I instinctively crouched when I heard Maria's footsteps come towards me. I glared at her and she froze. She probably thought we were friends! Ha! I had kidnapped her! Concern crossed her face. Concern! I was holding her captive and she was concerned about me!

"Is there something wrong?" She asked quietly.

"Yes!" I barked out. "Yes, there is! Why aren't you terrified of me! I could kill you in an instant! An a matter of fact, one of these days I will! Why cant you get that through your thick skull!" I exploded. Maria kept her face emotionless.

"I know that." She spoke so calmly that it infuriated me. Why wasn't she scared!

"How can you speak so calmly about your own death!" I rose from my crouch and stared down at her. My red eyes reflected back at me through her brown ones.

"Because I can never show fear." Her face remained the same but I saw years of suffering and self-preservation in the depths of her brown orbs. I tore myself away from her steady gaze and jumped up onto a high branch. The human girl was going to kill me! _What can I do to get rid of her?! _I searched my mind for an answer. I just wanted to go back to normal. To go back to hating humans the way I used to. I glanced down at Maria, who was sitting numbly on the ground. _ Victoria. _The answer came to me like lightning. Victoria could kill her, because I knew I sure couldn't. And I could play it off like Maria was a present for her. For my mate. I felt my heart harden against the human. I had a mate. A vicious, stunning, perfect-for-me mate.

Maria's POV:

I sat on the ground, stunned. Why was James suddenly so, so, so evil? It's like he had lost all his feelings. I had literally watched them disappear when he had first jumped into the tree. He was made at me, I told him the truth, he jumped into the tree, and made up his mind. I was going to die soon. _Love hurts. _My best friend's saying came to mind. I was in love with a monster who was going to kill me.

It all brought back memories of Lance. He was the leader of his gang, and I was his girl. I thought about shooting James in order to protect him. I thought about the bullet bouncing off of James head. I thought of him turning to smile at me. I was going to die. "Love hurts." I whispered to myself.

James jumped down from the tree and landed beside me in a crouch. It shocked me internally but I didn't show it on the outside.

"I'm going to meet up with some of my friends." He paused to gauge my reaction. "Do. Not. Leave. This. Camp." He said the same thing to me that he usually did. Only this time I wanted to leave. This time I regarded him as a monster holding me captive. I nodded silently and he was gone in a slash. I looked around. What to do now?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to write lately. School started and I have been soooo busy! But yay for me! I've completed my first week of high school! Here's to many more! Oh, wait, that doesn't sound fun. Never mind. Anyways, here's chapter 4!!!**

**Chapter 4**

Maria's POV:

I glanced around. It was now dark and James still wasn't back. I had been worrying for 2 hours now and had eventually exhausted my resources for fear. I had gone through every "what if" and was sick and tired of thinking. Time for some action. I pushed back a tree branch and squatted down. Taking one last look over my shoulder at the camp, I frowned. I thought that I had had some good times there, but then again that could've been my imagination blocking out what had actually happened.

"Hasta la vista." Turning back around, I crawled silently through the brush. Who knows where James could be and who could be with him. I scouted out my path with a skilled eyes. This wasn't the first time I had been running away from someone.

James POV:

I was running back to camp. That's what I was doing physically, mentally, on the other hand, I was having an internal battle. What to do, what to do? Victoria appeared beside me and smiled viciously. She had been thrilled when I had told her that I had a present for her. Now the smile scarred me, for Maria's sake._ What the Hell? _I yelled at myself in my head. _You plan a humans death and you worry for her sake? What's wrong with you?! You don't deserve to call yourself a vampire!_ I felt my heart harden at the last thought. I was a vampire and no one, including myself, could question that! I sped up a little bit, ready to get this over with.

I glanced back out of habit, half expecting to see Laurent behind me. But he wasn't. He had stayed behind to scout out local towns. He seemed extremely interested in this one town call Forks. The humans have the weirdest names for things. Especially Americans. I prefer Italy but Victoria loves the nomadic lifestyle so we keep moving.

"So where's this present?" Victorian flashed my a grin. I forced my face muscles to smile back.

"Up here, at camp." I sped up even more. Then her scent hit me. It was Maria's. I froze in my tracks and Victoria whipped past me. A moment later she reappeared, on guard.

"What?" She hissed, her body coiling. She sniffed the air, then relaxed. "A human. Why…. Oh! She's my present and you hid her! So now I have to find her, then I can keep her!" Victoria's whole face lit up. I nodded stiffly, the anger coursing though me. How dare she leave camp! After I had told her not to! No human disobeys me!

"Go get her, Vikki." It came out a barely a whisper. Victorian crouch, then leaped into the brush. My anger was soon replaced with dread. Awe, crap!

Maria's POV:

I had been crawling for and hour, looping around and going through water to make sure no one could follow my trail. I might not know what James is, but I know he's a tracker and a hunter. I would only survive if luck was on my side. I need a miracle. _Focus! _I commanded myself, I couldn't lose my head. Not now. There was a crack as a stick broke behind me. Instinctively I dove behind a tree and held my breath, This wasn't fun.

"Oh little present where are you?" A female voice hissed. I shivered, knowing that that was the voice of death, my death. I little heave escaped me, I didn't want to die! I don't want to die!!!! This was the end. _"Never go down without a fight!" _My best friend Yulliana's voice echoed inside my head. I wiped away the tear that had silently rolled down my cheek and gathered my courage.

"Do you have a pretty little bow on you?" The girls voice sneered. There was a rip and a whole tree went flying past my hiding spot. "Come out already!"

I took a breath and stood up. My legs felt numb but I was sure that my face was impassive. I stepped out and faced the voice. The girl was as beautiful as James, with flame red hair and blood red eyes. This was death impersonated.

"You want me," I said bravely. "Come and get me."

**A/N Uh oh, a cliffy! Review and make me happy! Cause when I'm happy, my friends are happy. And they like being happy. So if you cause them to be unhappy, beware!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Omg! I am soooo sorry for not updating sooner! I have been so busy with high school! It's a lot of work, but way more fun. Moving on from my social life, you guys should check out my profile and go the link on it, it's a website where I write my own stories. And, as always, review!**

**Chapter 5**

Maria's POV:

We stood stock still, neither of us moving. All was quiet except my ragged breathing. The red-headed thing in front of me seemed to be sizing me up. If she came any closer I would attack, even though I knew I wouldn't win. The silence dragged on before she let out a sadistic smile.

"You want to play human? Let's play." She crouched down and hissed at me, reminding me of a cat. Now that I thought about it, everything about her was feline. I took a tiny step back, getting ready to run. "Go." She whispered out, right as I spun and sprinted as fast as I possibly could through the trees. Her evil laugh followed me, making me think she was around every corner or bend. In my head I was mapping out what little I knew of the forest and planning each turn. My horrible gasping sounded extremely loud to my own ears, I felt like it was giving me away. I slowed a tiny bit and focused more on being quiet then being fast. There was a snap of a branch behind me and I swung to my side. I one fluid motion I had gone from running to standing with my back against a tree, trying to breath silently.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." She sang in a high soprano voice that grated against my nerves. I knew she was the death. Death. The word hadn't sounded so terrifying up until now. I was used to death, I saw it every day on the streets. Then I met James, and death began to take on a whole new meaning.

"James!" I whispered in a last ditch attempt to be saved as death found my hiding place. She smiled malevolently and began to stalk forward."James!" This time I yelled it out. This seemed to amuse her because there was a twinkle in her eye.

"You think that James is going to help you? Ha! He's the one who gave you to me, my sweet smelling present. I whimpered. I'd never begged before and I thought I never would but it escaped my lips before I could stop them.

"Por favor, no me mates*" I squeezed my eyes shut, praying for this all to be a dream. A horrible, on-going night mare that I would wake up from.

"*" The red-head answered back fluently. I felt my anger rise. How dare she speak to me in my native tongue!

"Callate, tu no mereces hablar en espnol!*" I opened my eyes to glare at her. I watched as the sparkle in the red-heads died down, replaced by cold furry.

"I'm tired of this game, time to end it." She growled and sank her teeth into my neck.

James POV:

I watched from afar as my little Maria stood up to death itself. A feeling a pride rose in me before I quickly squashed it back down. She was still going to die and I knew it. With an unexplainable sadness I watched as Maria began running. Victoria gave her a head start but then took off after her. Maria was good at hiding and getting her scent mixed up and turned around. It had caused me a tiny bit of trouble and now had Victoria confused. I smiled to myself. There was a reason why I was the hunter.

From my position high up in the trees I could see Maria slow down, focusing on being quieter because that's what Victoria was following her by. She was very smart for a human. It pained me that she was going to die, she could've been a great target to follow if I let her travel around the world. But no, little Maria had already caused me enough trouble and doubt and now it was time for this to end. Frustrated, I heard them converse in Spanish. I knew that Victoria could speak it because of her travels. For me I was never around humans enough to pick up on their languages, no matter where I was in the world.

Maria suddenly became outraged and yelled something in Spanish at Victoria. This made the vampire still. The game was over and I knew it. Without thinking I flashed out of the tree and ripped Victoria away from my human. But it was too late. Victoria had bitten Maria and my precious human crumpled to the ground in agony as the venom set in.

3 months later

Maria's POV:

I embraced James one last time, thinking back to everything we had been through together. I am now a vampire, like James and Victoria. They had spent the last three months training me and getting me ready for my new life. I'd like to think that it was in James' plan that he was going to turn me into a vampire but something tells me he decided to pull Victoria away at the last moment. Either way I was thankful. I fitted my new lifestyle, I belonged here. It didn't take me long at all to become accustomed to everything and now I was even able to be around humans for a short time without going ballistic, a major accomplishment for a newborn.

At first Victoria had hated me, probably because her mate had a thing for me. I later had learned about mates and saw that the bond between them is unbreakable so I gave up on James. It was his personality that I liked, not him. So after we had come to that understanding, me and Victoria became really good friends.

But I was to go my own way now. They of course gave me the option to join their coven but something made me decide against it. I was going to travel the world and learn more about my new lifestyle.

"Adios." I said softly, waving as we parted ways. James and Victoria disappeared from sight, they were going to meet up with another member of their coven in a small town called Forks. I was on my way Back to Searle, ready for anything that came my way. There I got an apartment on the nice side of town, using the money I had easily stolen from a back.

Sixteen days after I had left them, I got a hysterical call from Victoria.

"They killed him!" She dry-sobbed into the cell-phone. It took some time but I finally calmed her down enough to here the whole story. "They killed him over a human! They killed my James over a bitch human! And Laurent was up in Alaska, hiding like the coward he is!" My best friend became distraught. I offered her a place to stay, with me, and promised that I would help her plan her revenge on the Cullens.

*Por favor, no me mates- Please don't kill me.

*Vaya, querida, no sabia que sabias espanol, esto es emocionante- Why, dear, I didn't know you knew Spanish, this is exciting!

*Callate, tu no mereces hablar en espnol!- Shut up, you don't deserve to talk in Spanish!

**A/N That's it! The end! I thought it was a good ending. To go on would seem to be dragging it out but review and tell me what you think! Thanks to everyone! Peace!**


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